If I Only Knew…To Those Considering Getting Into Reloading

Most shooters
as they become more serious and want to take their shooting to the next level,
maybe looking into shooting competitively or simply curious to find higher
performance from their ammunition or that their shooting habits are outpacing
their budgets will find themselves at a crossroads where they seriously
consider loading their own ammunition. After all, the brass cartridge cases are
usually the most expensive component in ammunition manufacturing and if not
reloaded often find their way into the trash can or all over the ground at just
about every shooting range. Reusing our spent brass cases can be a great
socially responsible way to shoot more for our money and to mitigate rising
ammo costs. Reloading can also give us as shooters a better understanding of
how ammunition works and what it takes to for our ammunition to perform to our
exacting performance standards. It can also give us a great sense of pride to
know that we created our own ammunition that harvested that trophy bull or
buck, won that match, etc. Loading our own ammo can also be a relaxing and
enjoyable hobby and afford us the opportunity to create a more consistent
ammunition that is also tailored to our firearm which from my perspective is
the only way to squeeze every last bit of performance and accuracy out of our
firearms.

Some of
the benefits of loading your own ammunition is the flexibility it gives
shooters by being able to choose what components we use. By having the ability
to load our own ammunition we can turn traditional “hunting” rifle cartridges
such as 30-06, or .270 Winchester into potentially competitive match, or load a
soft recoiling “bunny fart” load for our pistols for match use, or for possibly
taking kids out to the range with a simple tweak of our components. We are also
able to change our ammunition to achieve higher velocities and flatter
trajectories than we can in commercially loaded offerings by experimenting with
different gun powders and different weights of powder. Changing the brand of
brass we use will have an effect on case volume and also can have varying
thickness of brass in the case neck where the bullet is held which can
influence the grip on the bullet and pressure required to release the bullet
which can influence the consistency of our muzzle velocities. We are also able
to control which primers are used which are held in the case head of the
cartridge and ignite the gunpowder and further control muzzle velocities and experiment
in order to increase ammo consistency. Want to load a bunny fart .40 S&W
pistol load in order to compete with 9mm or play with subsonic loadings in
different weight bullets in 300 Blackout? Load it up and try it for yourself! Just
make sure to do your homework and research what is safe beforehand. Loading our
own ammo allows us incredible flexibility and to be imaginative. It also allows
us to be assured of what is feeding through your firearm and its quality since
you’re in control the entirety of the way.

Having
complete control of our ammunition though can be potentially dangerous and life
threatening if not handled correctly. I cannot stress enough that the most
important thing we must focus on when loading your own ammunition is our
safety. For the most of us we are essentially orchestrating small explosions
that will be going off in very close proximity to our face, eyes, hands, and
body on secondhand information! If you are just getting started in reloading or
even if you are lucky enough to have a mentor teaching you, I still would
recommend buying at least 2-3 reloading manuals and most importantly READ AND
USE THEM!! Reloading manuals are a treasure trove of information and give basic
steps of creating safe ammunition and reloading practices such as recommended
minimum and maximum powder charges, brass handling and preparation, and also
for case inspection. It only takes a split second of broken focus while
reloading to create a potentially hazardous round (and it only takes one) which
could hurt, blind, or even kill you. Another drawback to reloading your own
ammo is that it can require a significant monetary investment in equipment and
time. At minimum, you will need to invest in a press, shellholders, dies, priming
tools, powder handling tools, brass case preparation tools, and a few reloading
manuals. All of these tools can add up to some serious cash and if you are
factoring in your time spent at the range developing a good load for your
firearm adds up very quick and depending on your shooting habits and cartridges
you are loading you may not see any savings by reloading for quite some time,
if at all.

For those of you that are on the
fence and thinking about getting into reloading or handloading your own
ammunition. I have to share a confession…I have quit trying to justify
reloading as a means to save money. I have been in denial, but it feels good to
say it out loud and get it off my chest. For me, the investment of time was
just too much to not try shoot the highest performance ammunition I could
create for my firearms. I have continually upgraded most of my equipment from
my original basic reloading kit in order to save time and increase consistency
and performance of my ammunition and at this point I will probably start to see
the savings about the same time I pay off my mortgage with the amount of
ammunition I’m currently loading. Do a little bit of homework and pick up a
reloading manual which will have steps required for making your own ammunition.
This will give you a good idea and a good baseline of what equipment is
required and price it out for what equipment would work for you. I would also
take a serious look into what reloading means to you and be honest with
yourself about what your end goal actually is. Are you simply looking for
cheaper ammunition but are short on time that can be utilized for focused
loading of ammunition or load development at the range, or do you shoot an
expensive cartridge a couple weekends a year and are looking to save a few
bucks on a box of ammunition a couple times a year? In all honesty, reloading
most likely will not be the right choice for you. On the other hand if you are
a serious shooter, competitive shooter, or just a curious shooter looking to
obtain the highest degree of performance from your firearm and are willing to
put in the work it takes to eliminate variables that can be come from factory
loaded ammunition, rolling your own ammunition is a great option!